Letter to the Editor: Veterans need to pull together collectively

By RON SHAWOrem

Dear Editor,

Public records show that there are 12,779 military retirees in Utah, of which 5,594 of them are over the age of 65. These are folks who were promised free medical and dental health care for themselves and their dependents for life if they would spend 20+ years in the service of their country. These folks are WWII, Korean War, Cold War, and Vietnam War vintage veteran military retirees.

The WWII Korean War veterans are called the "greatest generation." These folks are dying off nationally at the rate of 1,500 per day. These are people of whom many are in dire straights financially because of broken government promises and the resultant need to pay for a significant amount of that which should be free as a result of their faithful military service in defense of our country.

The best we can hope for is playing the numbers game whereas they count the numbers of correspondence received on a given issue. We will only be successful in the restoration of our promised benefits if we pull together and be heard individually and collectively.